Trainspotting Days

Yesterday I indulged and in a spate of 'ego publishing' recounted how I became involved with the WSR. What I missed out was the significant part that Castle Cary station played in that. I was born and brought up in Castle Cary and so spent many many hours hanging around the station trainspotting. This is how I remember it, this view taken from the footbridge.

The highlight of the day was the arrival of the up mid-morning Weymouth to Bristol train. I seem to remember that this arrived at 1117 and was locomotive hauled, as opposed to the usual multiple unit trains. It quite often has a class 46 peak or later a class 33 engine at the head and was often an opportunity for a 'cab' - providing the driver was in a good mood. Those days no longer exist. The station was remodelled in the mid 1980s and the downside building was demolished and replaced with a bus shelter. Although the station now has three platforms, I regret the loss of that building.

It is rather odd, that even today, if I glimpse at the clock at it is reading 1117 I am immediately transported back to the late 1970s and those stopping trains. Really odd that.

Here are Many more pictures of the station and the branch line to Weymouth.

How it all started

I often get asked, how did you get involved with the railway.......
I guess it goes right back to my parents and my 4th Christmas....

Its the Tri-ang goods set, which came complete with the Nellie locomotive and an oval of Super 4 track. To be honest, there was no looking back after that and I progressed through Hornby products to the usual layout on a sheet of chipboard in my childhood bedroom. I am sorry that poor old Nellie had an awful lot of abuse, was disassembled, repainted, reassembled and messed about with multiple time. But here we are 50 years later and I still have her on the shelf as a reminder. I went to Sexey's school in Bruton which sat right by the main line and so my trainspotting time spread to encompass school lunchtimes etc. At that time there was a small level crossing with a warning bell right by the school and the start of the bell was a sign that a train was due - mostly to be met with the cry "Oh no, not another Western, they are so boring". How I yearn now to be able to see that again! I became fascinated with history and at that time the Westbury MAS scheme was sweeping away the local signalboxes so I started to photograph them all and and I became hooked on signalling. An old friend of mine then said "if you want to become a signalman, then join the Welshpool and Llanfair Railway"...I signed up and was booked in for some training turns before I looked at the map and realised that Welshpool was a long way from Somerset and that Minehead was much closer. That was 1983 and so means that I have now spent 35 years as a volunteer.....a mere dogwatch compared to some, but a lot for me. Thanks Mum and Dad for Nellie, look where it led!

Board Meeting 19 January.......and a new puppy

As I trailed last week, we had our monthly board meeting last Friday. One of the things we can improve on is communications (actually that is true for every organisation I know!) and so we are now producing a regular board newsletter. Here is the latest one:

January 2018 Board Update

The main items to note are

1. The stakeholders meeting will be on 24 February, 2pm at Bishops Lydeard Village Hall. We intend this session to be focussed around the new business plan and we will try and make it interactive in some way! So please mark your diaries now and come along.
2. We have now approved a budget for 2018. This has been through a very thorough line by line review with the heads of departments and the head of finance. This budget shows a clear surplus for 2018, though as in any business, achieving it will be challenging. The next steps are to look at refreshing and updating our financial reporting and forecasting systems so that we can track performance carefully and be in a position to take corrective action early, if needed.
3. We were joined for part of our meeting by Paul Whitehouse and Chris Austin, chairmen of the WSRA and WSSRT. These two organisations are our biggest shareholders and wished to discuss our plans for the budget and the management of the railway.

Our main work over the next couple of weeks is now focussed on the business planning, though it is now only two weeks until trains start again. I am already booking my seat on the first train out of BL on 10 Feb - and I will have my new whippet puppy with me too (though he's growing up very quickly).

Winter time

It is January and the forecast is for snow. We really don't have snow anymore, not like they used to! Many of us remember 1978 on the WSR when our trains were the only link between Minehead and the outside world.
This video shows what things used to be like. These are real snow drifts and men who with just the aid of shovels and 'good solid back breaking digging' cleared the line. Although they have a snowplough (and very dramatic it is too) it can't be used until the snow has been broken up into chunks.
Enjoy!

Next WSR Journal

For my sins, I am also currently the editor of the WSR Journal. How did that happen?? As I mentioned in a previous blog, I do enjoy making things and creative activities, whether it's model railways, model boats (yes, I have built a few), house building work or publishing written work. I love just sitting at the computer, firing up the desktop publishing software (my tool of choice is CorelDraw) and just, well, pottering. To make that pottering meaningful, I have helped published various booklets and leaflets. More recently, when Richard Jones took over the WSR Journal, I offered to do the typesetting (thats an old fashioned term now!!) and layout. I like nothing more that tinkering around, moving pages, altering the pictures etc so that the content fits exactly within the set 80 pages we have. Richard moved on and so at the moment I am now working with a small team to gather the content and put it together. So whats coming in the next edition? Well, Claire Sheppy has offered to write a series of articles on the WSSRT heritage coaches and so we have the next instalment of that. And Ian Tabrett has written a fascinating article on the recently discovered Minehead station lost property book. Here is a sample of some of the entries:

I won't spoil the surprises in the article, but I am sure you will enjoy it. Copy date was Saturday, so if you were going to make a submission then you're late - but we can still accommodate you! Just let me know.

More garden railways

There is a term 'cheque book modelling' which means that you simply buy ready made models off the shelf, plonk them on the track and your away. This has never really satisfied me...not only because I don't like spending my money, but also because I enjoy making things. A while ago I was captivated by a picture of a Gebus narrow gauge diesel that used to run on the Austrian Zillertalbahn Railway.

It looks like a typical workhorse diesel and I immediately knew I needed to build one. Luckily I managed to get hold of a drawing from a German model railway magazine and with the aid of my school-boy German and Google translate managed to work out most of the details. Armed only with my enthusiasm, I bought wheels, motors, sheet brass etc and began to hack away and solder things together. So far I have a pair of bogies, now wired up and working:

Ken Davidge has very kindly 3d printed axleboxes for me and these are next to go on. It will be radio controlled so then it sorting out the control gear. Sheets of brass then await for the body!

Board meeting

The WSR board meets monthly and our next session is today - 19 January. As we are all rail enthusiasts and volunteers, these are normally very convivial affairs, but of course sometimes we have some very weighty and difficult matters to discuss and make decisions on. This month we have the chance to welcome Paul Whitehouse and Chris Austin, respectively chairmen of the WSRA and WSSRT to share a part of our meeting. It is no secret that the WSR Board has been through a period of recent change. I am the third chairman since June last year and quite rightly Chris and Paul and keen to know what our plans are to move things forward. I am very heartened by their presence. I 100% buy into the one-railway ideal: whilst we have separate organisations there should be seamless junctions between us and we must all work together to make sure the railway continues to thrive. As soon as we can after the weekend, we will publish another 'board newsletter' to summarise our discussions. Not sure exactly when that will be yet as I am tied up with family things over the weekend, but I aim to get it out early next week. In the meantime, the board are keen to hear your views and I will put contact details on the newsletter. regards.

Spending spare time hours

You might think that as chairman I am fully occupied! But no, I still find time to do other stuff as well. I cannot now remember when I first became fascinated by narrow gauge railways, it was a long time ago! The Lynton and Barnstaple being my utmost favourite narrow gauge line. years ago I used to build 009 models, but I was never satisfied by the running quality. Little light things too often stalled or fell off the track.  So now I have 'progressed' on to larger scale garden railways. Its SM32 for those in the know - that is 1:19 scale stock running on 32mm gauge track. I am lucky that my garden is able to accommodate this, but if you read anything about garden railways you will see that they can fit into the smallest spaces. Indeed, once of the most convincing local lines is based in Bishops Lydeard and is in a very small space yet gives a real feeling of a real railway. No doubt I will be talking about my own line much more in the future! For now here are some pictures of what I am up to!

Track Relays

It is a factor of heritage railways that most of the heavy maintenance has to be done out of season when the trains aren't running. Not for us the opportunity to close down on a Sunday and relay the track - we need to do it during the winter when the services are stopped. This means that our track gangs are often out working in the worst conditions.
Anyway, here is a fascinating video of how it was done traditionally:

This is an absolutely absorbing video - well at least for me it is. I just love the precision, the lack of hard hats, the gents in suits and the lovely period charm of the whole thing.
As a contrast, the infrastructure gang are relaying track beyond Seaward Way crossing. There are several photographs on Steve Edges website, here is one:
track relay

Camp Coaches at Blue Anchor

Yesterday I was very much on the 'looking forward to Summer' mode. Perhaps its the gloomy weather at the moment. Those who know me will know that I am a real enthusiast for the heritage and history of the West Somerset Railway. I first volunteered in 1983 when I qualified as a signalman at Blue Anchor. Those were much different days then, the railway has progressed beyond all recognition through the hard work and dedication of those who support it. So here is another picture that wraps all of that up together.

It is summer, we are at Blue Anchor and it is sometime in the late 1950s or early 60s. So all my themes wrapped up together. Blue Anchor had a single camp coach in 1952, two from 1957 and a third one from 1962 when the goods siding was extended to accommodate the extra vehicle. When I first started volunteering, I used to occasionally stay overnight in the coaches that are there now - it never seems quite as idyllic as it looks in this photograph! At least one of the vehicles is now being restored so that soon again you can camp at Blue Anchor.

Shopping in Morrisons

Shopping can be boring.....Morrisons in Minehead is well stocked and the staff are very friendly and helpful, but you cannot get away from the fact that grocery shopping is boring. For various reasons that I won't tire you with, I am often in this store despite living in Taunton.  Although you don't see it on the way in because they are behind your head, on the way out - that time when you need the greatest positive lift, if you look up you will see two large images related to the railway.

This one is a copy of a picture in the General Manager's collection and shows Minehead station in the early 1920s. The mix of rolling stock and the general air of the station are very atmospheric.

This second image is on the right as you leave the store. It is a poster from the 1950s showing the beach at Minehead on a sunny day - exactly the opposite weather that I experienced when I emerged from the shop earlier this week! At least for a moment I thought that one day the weather might improve!

How we see ourselves

I have always been fascinated by the effect of seeing yourself on TV. There only has got to be a single, distant, momentary view of ourselves on TV and we get all excited and start phoning and ringing our relatives insisting that they watch and look out for the fleeting view of us. As a small child I was once spotted on 'Points West' playing on the swings in the local playground. even now, all those years later I still remember the thrill of seeing myself on TV. But then again maybe I have had a very boring life!!
So it is with great excitement that I saw this video on YouTube.

The video was made by Tom Parry who spent a day at Minehead filming the shed staff preparing 53809 for a test run and repairing a damage valve. No, I am not in it, but railway staff are...watch and enjoy!

My current book list....

These two volumes are currently sat on my bedside table. Freddie Huxtable was brought up within sight and sound of the Barnstaple branch, a railway that really is the West Somerset's sister line. He has been researching the branch for many years and the first volume appeared in 2016. The second volume which covers stations and signalling has recently been published. I have a vested interest as I drew all the maps in the book for Freddie - my years working as a cartographer were not wasted! Both books are beautifully put together and deserve a place on all of our bookshelves. Volume 3 is in production - expect sometime next year! Both books available from railway bookshops. Highly recommended.

New year's resolutions

Do we all make up New Year' resolutions? And if so, how many last beyond the 2nd of 3rd of January? Last year I started running using the C25K app on my phone, and I lasted until May - and completed some ParkRuns as well. This year what? Well I have always admired those who keep blogs so my resolution is to run this blog. Not every day, but a couple of times a week. I am honoured to be Chairman of the West Somerset Railway and this blog will be generally about that line - the longest standard gauge heritage line in the country - but also about my other activities and thoughts. I do have solder and paint under my fingernails and a workshop full of model railway stuff in various scales and stages of completion!
Join me on the journey! I welcome all comments and feedback.
Firstly here;s a photo of one of my favourite vehicles, the Hawksworth saloon, seen here at Bishops Lydeard back in the summer.